Arkham Asylum: The Big Bad Wolf
by Leopardfang of Moonclan
Summary: Reggie was just admitted to Arkham Asylum. Determined to keep a low profile until her competency hearing, she tries to avoid trouble. On the evening of Joker's big party, will she be able to survive? Will she have it in her to kill someone? That night begins the slow descent of an average citizen into the life of an Arkham maniac. No pairings. WARNING. Mentions cutting and suicide.
1. Prologue

**Hello darling readers. I have been in a bit of a batman mood lately and I love the Arkham games so I've decided to write this little thing. However, I have a few more big projects going on. Plus it's my senior year of high school and I need to finish strong. So I'm just gonna post this first chapter and if you guys really want, I will continue it.**

"This is bullshit." The young woman grumbled to herself as she filled out the paperwork. She sat in a hard grey plastic chair and her butt had fallen asleep nine minutes ago. The air smelled like various cleaners and there was hardly anything of color outside of green. Just white and various shades of grey or green. The fluorescent lights above shone harshly and gave off a slight buzz. There was a pair that flickered slightly every few minutes in the far corner of the room. A police officer sat next to her, making sure she filled everything out but she ignored him. He was the one who originally drove her to the place she was now.

It felt like she was signing away her life and her soul as she scratched out her name on another line. She had her whole life ahead of her. She was only nineteen, she had been getting ready to go to Gotham University for a major in art and a minor in religious studies. She herself was actually agnostic but that didn't mean she couldn't be interested in learning about various religions. She was sharing an apartment with her sister, well technically stepsister but they loved each other just as much as any other blood related pair of sisters. They had planned to take turns going to college so that way one of them could focus on keeping the apartment while the other could focus on their studies.

 _'Last line.'_ She thought to herself. But looking at the last line on the last page, everything seemed much more final. _'But,'_ she reminded herself. _'It's not my choice to make.'_ With that last thought, she signed her name on the dotted line.

Regina Wolffe

With a heavy sigh Reggie walked up to the woman at the front desk, the officer following her. She took a chance to examine him since he would be the last person she was going to see that didn't work in the building for a while. She was actually a few inches taller than him but she was taller than a lot of people. He looked like he was in his late forties, his short dark blonde hair had streaks of grey in it and his stubble was beginning to turn grey. His eyes were black and hard. He had probably seen more of the darkness than most Gothamites did. Reggie handed the clipboard with all the paper work over to the elderly woman sitting behind the front desk.

"Everything appears to be in order." She said in a professional tone, her long red nails flicking through the papers. "Welcome to Arkham Asylum, Miss Regina Wolffe." She filed the papers away in a cabinet under the letter 'W'. She then gestured to a guard standing next to the door way. "This is Officer Aaron Cash, he will get you a uniform and then escort you to your cell."

Reggie looked at the officer before her. Cash had dark skin and short hair along with a beard and mustache. He was only a couple inches taller than her but the stern face and hook hand quickly put any ideas of disrespect out of her head. Her temper was what had gotten her into Arkham in the first place. She just needed to stay low and calm for a couple months and once she passed her competency hearing she would be free to go. She wasn't crazy and if she just stayed low she would be able to get out without a problem.

"Come on Wolffe." He said firmly.

There was no hostility in his tone, probably due to the fact that she was so young and that it was her first time but his voice left no room for argument. Reggie followed him silently. She walked as calmly as she could. She didn't want to curl into herself and seem weak but she didn't want to seem overly confident. Reggie just wanted to blend into the background. She was about to be living in the same space with murderer's rapists, lunatics and rogues. It she were to say that she wasn't scared, she'd be lying.

Cash led her into a shower room that uniforms lying in a hamper and towels lying in another. The room itself was completely tiled white with about eight shower heads on one wall and a mirror on the other. There were no curtains or walls to section off individual stalls, it was just an open room. Realizing what she was expected to do, she took a calming breath and removed her clothes with minimal color in her cheeks. She told herself it was just like the gym locker rooms back in high school. Cash watched, not out of perversion but obviously making sure she didn't do anything she shouldn't. Part of her wanted to yell at him to turn around but she kept quiet and showered as quickly as possible.

There was almost no pressure and the water was cold even though she was the only one taking a shower. Would the water be even colder when other inmates were in the shower and they were fighting for the warmest water? Reggie wondered if any inmates or guards had been stabbed in the showers. How much blood had flowed down the drain? If she took out a black light, how much blood would she see? Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Reggie quickly rinsed her hair and grabbed a towel. It was a little damp and the fabric was rough and scratched her skin but she dried off anyway. She didn't want to cause any trouble; not with the guards, not with the inmates and not with anyone.

The black haired girl got into a dark grey Arkham uniform. It was rough like the towel but still, Reggie didn't say anything. What smart person would when you were the new inmate in one of the most notorious asylums in the world? The uniform was a little loose but it still fit well enough. She also found a pair of shoes that were obviously given out to all the inmates. Reggie picked up her discarded clothes and shoes and walked over to Cash. He took them and handed them off to another guard. Reggie figured they would be put in a locker or something. As Cash walked her towards the Penitentiary he explained the schedule to Reggie.

"Seven am is wake up call. After that you have ten minutes to get ready. Breakfast is seven-fifteen to eight and then you got group therapy until ten. After that you got an hour in your cell until you get lunch until eleven-thirty. You get an hour of solo therapy with your psychologist after that and then you head back to your cell until dinner at six. Dinner ends at six thirty and then you go to the rec room until nine-thirty. Your rec room privileges can be revoked at any time so make sure you behave. You head back to your cell at nine thirty-five and then it's lights out at ten."

The Penitentiary was where the calmer and easier inmates were held. It was almost lights out so the prisoners were winding down. A few inmates made comments about her being the new inmate, threatening to kill her but Reggie had expected all of that. Though her heart was pounding she didn't her best to mask her fear and nervousness. They were practically common street thugs, it wasn't like Joker or Scarecrow were threatening her. Reggie knew that the higher profile and more volatile inmates were housed in the Intensive Treatment Center. She'd likely only see them in the cafeteria or maybe in the rec room. She could possibly see them in group therapy but her file was no where near the level what their's must have been so Reggie didn't feel that she had anything to worry about.

"Here's your cell." Cash said, pulling out a key and opening what would be Reggie's home for the next few months.

Reggie stepped in. The cell was small with cold floors and barren walls. There was a sink and a toilet without any curtain for privacy. The bed was a single with a thin mattress and a blanket that looked more like a sheet of plastic. Reggie walked in and sat on the bed, the springs creaking under her weight. She didn't say anything as Cash closed and locked her cell. He looked at he before he left, his eyes showing a glimmer of sympathy.

"Don't worry Wolffe, you'll be out of here before you know it." Cash said before walking away.

Reggie didn't say anything but she appreciated the words, even though she knew it would feel like an eternity before she could leave the oppressive walls of the asylum. She stood up and walked to the center of her room. Holding out her arms and without moving her feet, she leaned over and touched both side of her cell, testing to see just how small it was. Oh well, she was determined to survive. Reggie laid back down on her bed and pulled the plastic sheet over her. She was happy that she was used to the cold. Reggie closed her eyes but it was a long time before she managed to fall asleep.


	2. First Day

**Hey, decided to continue this story since I got kinda into it. I hope you guys will all give it a chance.**

"Up and at em!" Reggie jolted awake at the sound of one of the guards banging his baton against her cell door.

He quickly moved on to the other cells. Trying to calm her heart beat due to the sudden and rather loud wake up call, she looked around her cell. She was still in Arkham and was still an inmate. As she stood up and walked over to the sink, which had a comb, tooth brush and toothpaste, she made a plan for herself. She would try her best to be as unnoticeable as possible. While her temper could be an obstacle, at least she wasn't rooming with Victor Zsasz or someone as equally terrifying.

As Reggie squeezed some generic toothpaste onto the basic toothbrush she had in her cell by the sink. She brushed her teeth quickly and ran the pick comb through her hair to remove any tangles. Having some extra time, and not knowing what to do, she made her bed and then sat, waiting for her cell to open. She began to wonder how her fellow inmates would react to a newcomer. Would they ignore her or would it be like in the movies and they would try and gang up on her? Feeling her heart start to pound she took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down again. With a loud beep all the cells in the block slid open.

Reggie stood up and noticed the inmates get into a single file line. began to follow the inmates towards the cafeteria. Quietly, she shuffled her way into line. She didn't say anything when a couple of inmates cut in front of her. If it were in a school lunch line she would have said something but prissy high schoolers and asylum patients were two very different things. If Reggie were to be honest with herself, she was too scared to get angry.

They all seemed to ignore her, thankfully. If all went well, Reggie's stay low plan would keep her out of trouble and get her out of the asylum before long. The cafeteria was like any other school cafeteria but devoid of even more color. She grabbed a tray and slid along the line just like everyone else. A large and rather old lunch lady gave her a dinner roll, a ladle full of odorless mystery mush and a milk carton. As Reggie checked the expiration date on the milk (still fresh, thankfully) she saw a group of inmates that nearly made her heart stop.

Sitting at a table, right next to the security guards, were some of Batman's rogues. Harley Quinn ate cheerfully, pigtails swishing as she talked animatedly with Poison Ivy who seemed the barely be listening as she sipped her water. The Riddler was irritating the Scarecrow in some fashion and Victor Zsazz ate quietly while scratching at his tally marks. It was frightening to see them in real life and not from behind the safety of a TV screen but seeing them out of their getups made them a little less intimidating. Reggie supposed that they were all forced to sit together under the watchful supervision of the guards.

Looking around for a place to sit, she decided to sit close enough to the guards so that she could get them if she needed help but far enough away so that she wouldn't draw the attention of the rogues. Why a bunch of super villains would notice a nameless patient, Reggie didn't know but it was better safe than sorry. She found a table with a couple of other inmates that seemed quiet and harmless. Luckily, Reggie's judgement of character held true as they proceeded to ignore each other for the entire lunch period. The mush was bland and tasteless but Reggie managed to swallow it, the dinner roll was as hard as a brick and the milk tasted odd (Reggie suspected that the expiration date was false) but other than a lackluster meal, nothing really happened.

At eight o'clock on the dot, lunch was called to an end and Reggie and a couple other inmates were escorted to group therapy. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She took comfort in the fact that since she wasn't nearly as crazy as the rogues, she most likely wouldn't have to do therapy with them. If they pared similar inmates together than Reggie would hopefully have nothing to worry about. While she was scared out of her mind, she knew that the reason why she was in Arkham was quite serious.

Arriving at the proper room, Reggie saw that a few other inmates were already present. The last few dwindled in a couple minutes later. After the guards got the 'okay' from the doctor they were let it. The group therapy room had several plastic chairs of different colors arranged in a circle. There were several cabinets around the room and bins with labels like 'balls' or 'toys' there were even some matts stacked against the wall. The room smelt like paint and play dough. Reggie felt like she was back in first grade.

"Come in everyone." The Doctor was a middle aged woman, leaning in the older side. She was already sitting in a yellow plastic chair. Her hair was in a ponytail along with a bedazzled butterfly and she had a bright smile. Reggie wasn't sure if she should be relieved or irritated by the situation.

They all sat in the plastic chairs, most of them seemed bored. It was still fairly early so maybe they were all just tired. Reggie was wide awake but figured that once she got used to the asylum (if she ever did) she would be just as tired and irritated as the other inmates. Reggie also noticed that all of the other patients were around her age. A different way to divide up inmates but Reggie could work with that as well.

"We have someone new with us today." The doctor said, turning her overly perky expression towards Reggie. "I'm Doctor Mahoney. Can you please tell us your name and why you're here?"

Reggie sat up a little straighter in her chair. "Hi, my name is Reggie Wolffe-" she stopped when the other patients chimed back in an unenthusiastic tone, "Hello Reggie." Silently steeling herself for what would surely be a special brand of agony, Reggie said, "I'm in here for anger management issues."

"Ooh, a violent one?" Reggie turned and saw one of the patients smirking at her, challenging her. She had a shaved head and had tattoos on her tan hands. Her grey eyes were cold.

Blue eyes narrowing at the girl, Reggie leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "You could say that. I stabbed my sister's boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend now." She leaned back and held her chin, assuming a stereotypical thinking pose. "I wonder if he's out of the hospital yet."

"So you didn't-" the patient was cut off by a flustered looking Dr Mahoney.

"Now, now there's no need to talk about that." Dr Mahoney said before hurriedly getting up and walking over to one of the many cupboards. She pulled out several sketch pads and a few boxes of crayons and pencils. Apparently it was art therapy for the day. Reggie was more than happy with that. She drew a lot herself and made comics from time to time. She quickly grabbed a sketch pad and a pencil. She didn't pay any attention to anything else the Dr Mahoney said. Reggie didn't really have anything in mind as far as what she wanted to draw so she just started doodling and let herself get lost in thought.

She thought about how she wound up in the nuthouse. It was all because of her sister's stupid ex-boyfriend Trenton. While her sister Skylar was smarter than she believed, she wasn't the best judge of character. She had a string of bad boyfriends ever since high school; drug addicts, cheaters, thieves and manipulators. It was ironic, Reggie being younger than Skylar yet she was always the one to protect her and help pick up the pieces of several broken hearts.

While Reggie herself had never dated all that much, Skylar seemed to have a new boyfriend every week. The blonde was known for it back in high school. While not all of them were all that bad, the decent ones never lasted more than a month. When Reggie met Trenton she knew it was going to be a few months of barely tolerating him before he broke Skylar's heart and left Reggie to pick up the pieces.

Reggie had always had a problem with her temper. While it didn't rear its head all that often, it went hand in hand with her protectiveness towards people she cared about. She'd gotten suspended numerous times for beating another student black and blue because they were bullying her friends. So was it really all that surprising when she had walked in on seeing Trenton punch her sister that she had grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him five times.

She explained to the judge that she had done it to protect her sister and the jury had taken that into consideration. She was legally an adult so she would be tried as one but given the circumstances of the situation, instead of prison she was sent to Arkham for therapy. Reggie hated the asylum, but she hated being away from her sister more.

She was supposed to be working a job to help Skylar pay for their apartment while the blonde went to college for a history degree. Then when she got it, she would get a job full time job while Reggie switched to part time and got a degree herself. Now her sister was on her own.

"Alright everyone!" Dr Mahoney said cheerfully, snapping Reggie out of her thoughts. "Reggie, why don't you show us what you drew?"

Reggie looked down and saw that she had drawn some simple swirly patterns. She noticed that some of them from earlier were more jagged, no doubt during her thoughts about Trenton, and some were more slow and curvy from her thoughts about her sister. She held her drawing up. "I just made some swirls. I was reflecting on my situation and you can see how I feel about it by the differences in the swirls."

The other drawings weren't anything special. Just random drawings that the inmates bullshited some meaning behind. After everyone finished sharing, group therapy was over. After that they were sent to their cells for an hour and after that it was lunch time. Lunch was just as uneventful as breakfast was.

'Alright.' Reggie thought. 'Half way through my first day and nothing has really happened. Everything's been good so far.'

After lunch, it was time to meet her doctor. This doctor was supposed to be the one who managed her the majority of the time and handled her therapy. Reggie was escorted from lunch down to what a door without a name on it. Confused, but not about to resist an officer with a baton, Reggie went inside.

A brunette doctor with her hair in a tight bun was arranging her papers on the desk. Reggie sat down in the chair in front the desk.

"This isn't my office. My actual office is in the Intensive Treatment building but Warden Sharp thought it would be a good idea to give me a low profile patient as a break from the rogues." The woman said, arranging the last of her papers before sitting down. "My name is Doctor Young and I will be your therapist Regina."

"You can call me Reggie." She said, rubbing one of her blue eyes. "Regina makes me sound like a priss."

"Very well." Dr Young said, making a note in a file, no doubt Regina's. "So according to this you are in here for 'violent tendencies'. You stabbed your step- sister's abusive boyfriend and have a history of violent outbursts." Reggie nodded, aggravation rising slightly at all the memories this was bringing up but held it in. "According to your file your father had had numerous relationships, all of your siblings are step-siblings and your mother is a paranoid schizophrenic who has made multiple attempts on your father's life and is housed right here in the asylum."

"Yep." Reggie nodded, crossing her legs.

"Well first days are all about introduction. So why don't you tell me about yourself?" Dr Young said, still looking at her file.

"It's already all in there." Reggie said. Dr Young looked up at her and Reggie was suddenly reminded of her math teacher from tenth grade. She sighed. "But if you need more info my dad's always had anger issues. He never beat me but he yelled a lot. He's always stood up for me though whenever someone else was in the wrong. Kind of like a 'no one picks on my kid but me' mentality."

"School was fine, all things considered. There were bullies but you know what I did to them." Reggie talked some more; about her drawing and her desire to get an art degree. Not long after the session was over and Reggie was escorted back to her cell. She was left in there for a few hours before dinner and then there was free time until it was time to go back to her cell for lights out.

As Reggie lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling she thought about the day. Nothing substantial had really happened. Maybe it was only in movies where the first day was the worst. Hopefully the rest of her days in the asylum would be just as uneventful.


	3. First Friend

**Hey guys, sorry this took so long. Life is a thing that I need to worry about with college, work and family. Try to be patient with me.**

 **WARNING! This chapter mentions cutting and suicide attempts. It's not very detailed, or at least I don't think it is but just be prepared if you still wanna read and be sure to take care of yourselves.**

 **Everything belongs to its rightful owners. Please review.**

Reggie stood in the lunch line, just outside the cafeteria, during her second day at Arkham. Behind her was a tiny, skittish young man and in front of her was a quiet elderly woman who's kids probably just decided to put Granny in Arkham for her dementia instead of a nursing home. Reggie had heard of it happening before. Group therapy had been just as stupid and pointless as the day before. She wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that clearly no one wanted to be there or that Doctor Mahoney's patronizing voice made them all want to throttle her. For Christ's sake she treated them like kindergarteners! The plastic chairs and play dough didn't help either. Mental illness did not translate to having the mental capacity of five year olds.

Reggie ran a hand down her face. She was starting to sound like the Riddler which was a frightening thing to have happen when you were in the looney bin.

"Better the Riddler than Zsasz." The girl mumbled to herself. She tensed and then sighed. "And... I'm talking to myself."

'But I don't have anyone else to talk to.' Reggie thought to herself. At the very least she wasn't going to speak to herself out loud. 'Is Arkham that powerful or am I just easily affected? Or am I just over thinking things?'

Reggie grabbed a tan plastic tray and shuffled down the line. As she stared at the lunch lady she couldn't help but wonder if inmates were sometimes given chores around the asylum. Laundry duty, raking leaves in the fall or cafeteria duty. The image of Two-Face in a hairnet almost made her crack a smile. A ladle full of mystery meat was dropped onto her tray, along with a little package of animal crackers that had expired three years ago. She then grabbed a mini water bottle and sat down at the same table she had yesterday.

Staring at the lump of dark brown, lumpy meat, Reggie took her plastic spork and poked it. It wiggled like jello. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I'm pretty sure its animal food." A soft voice said.

Reggie turned and saw the only other paitient sitting with her. She had tan skin that had a greysigh tinge to it, curly black hair, a wide nose, full lips and big brown eyes with dark bags under them. She was even younger than Reggie. She ducked her head and blushed, tugging at the sleeves of her uniform and pulling them down.

"I've seen containers of food that say 'strengthens hooves'." She said, picking at a frayed thread on her uniform.

"Shouldn't they be charged for inhumane treatment of inmates, or something for that?" Reggie asked, tightening her grip on her spork in anger. The girl flinched and Reggie instantly felt bad. "I'm not angry with you. I'm pissed at whatever genius thought this was going to help us 'recover'." Reggie said, using air quotes around the last word.

"Budget cuts?" She asked with a shrug, rubbing her wrists.

"This is basic human rights stuff!" Reggie snapped, feeling herself getting angrier and angrier. "Then again I suppose we have to be 'human' to have those." She could deal with crappy prison food but what was on her tray was ridiculous. She then took a deep breath. She had to stay calm and lie low. Drawing attention to herself was the last thing she needed. She wasn't stupid enough to go up to the lunch lady like she was eating at a restaurant, found a hair in her soup and demand her meal for free or for a refund.

The girl had gone quiet again and seemed to try and hide behind her hair. Reggie smiled gently and leaned down so that she could see the other girl's face. She spoke in a soft tone like one did to a shy child.

"My name's Reggie Wolffe. I'm in by court order for anger issues, as you just saw. What about you?" Reggie almost made a move to grab the girl's hand but decided against it. Now that she just told her about what she was in for she'd probably be scared. While Reggie was far from the most intimidating person, let alone inmate, the younger girl looked like she was afraid of her own shadow. But she still held her hand out for her to shake.

"Ruby Gonzales. I was put in here by my parents because of my latest suicide attempt last month." Ruby said, shaking Reggie's hand with quite possibly one of the loosest grips she had ever experienced.

Reggie was able to keep her face neutral for the most part but her stomach felt like it had dropped to the center of the earth. How did someone respond to that? A part of Reggie wanted to ask a lot of questions that she knew she shouldn't. Questions like how and why. She also wanted to ask what her parents were thinking, sending her to probably one of the most depressing places on earth for her depression. While Reggie didn't know much of the topic outside of what was taught in health class, she didn't think that handling it was something that could be truly taught in a classroom in ninth grade.

"Nice to meet you." Reggie said, trying to not look at the bandages that were peaking out from under the sleeves in Ruby's uniform.

"You too." Ruby said in a quiet voice.

Quickly looking to change the subject, Reggie opened her animal crackers and asked, "Where are the other inmates? I thought there'd be more." She frowned at the contents of her bag. She didn't have animal crackers, she had animal dust. Shrugging, she put the corner of the bag in her mouth, tilted her head back and let the contents slide into her mouth.

"They have their food in their cells. They're considered inept and unable to function around others." Ruby said, taking incredibly tiny bites of her mystery animal food before gesturing to their empty table.

"And _they're_ considered socially capable?" Reggie couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she gestured with her eyes towards the rogue's table.

The next event was the last thing Reggie wanted to happen. She got a rogue's attention.

Well, they just made eye contact but it was still attention that she didn't need. It was Scarecrow that she met eyes with. Reggie couldn't decide if that was better or worse than Zsasz. Reggie wanted to immediately look away but that would no doubt make her look like a new test subject for the master of fear. As she kept eye contact with the rogue she had to stop herself from raising a brow at him. She didn't want to seem too confident, it would seem like a challenge. Keeping her breathing natural, and remaining very still, Reggie stared right back at the former psychologist. Scarecrow had very sharp and gaunt features like he didn't get enough to eat. He was stick thin with long limbs, his nose was long and beak like and his eyes were a very vivid light blue. Lighter than Reggie's and extremely creepy. They gave Reggie a feeling like she was a rat on a dissection table. It was probably the same way Scarecrow looked at all his 'patients'. It was most definetly, not a good look for the rogue to be giving her. But, then again, she was just a random nobody in the asylum. Surely there were more interesting inmates (or guards) with more interesting phobias.

Ruby, realizing what was going on, grabbed Reggie's arm and shook her head looking very scared. Without breaking eyes contact and by some miracle, without shaking, Reggie gently removed Ruby's hand and continued her staring contest with the Scarecrow. In that moment, Harley playfully shoved the Riddler into Scarecrow, causing him to be the first to break eye contact. Reggie sighed in relief.

"Are you insane!?" Ruby whispered, gripping her arm tightly.

Reggie smirked at her and raised an eyebrow. Ruby bowed her head but Reggie was able to see traces of a smile on her face.

"Right, dumb question." Ruby said.

Reggie smiled. "So what did you do before you came here?"

"I was in theatre and I was in the school's Spanish club." Ruby said.

"Did you already speak Spanish?" Reggie asked, pulling one of her black hairs out of her food.

"Well...my last name is Gonzales." Ruby said, rubbing her hands together shyly and ducking her head as if she expected Reggie to yell at her for being sarcastic.

"I didn't want to assume." Reggie said, shrugging. "I actually took Spanish in my first two years of high school."

"Cool." There was a few moments of awkward silence. "Do you have any pets?"

These were the kinds of questions that went back and forth through out lunch. They were stereotypical and a little awkward but it was nice being able to talk to someone. Friends, or at least acquaintances would no doubt make Reggie's stay at the asylum more bearable. Reggie internally shook her head. The asylum cafeteria was almost starting to feel like high school. But unl8ke high school Reggie wasn't the scary girl who was willing to beat up any bully that messed with her. She was at the bottom f the food chain in the asylum and now she had to hope and pray that she hadn't made herself a target for the Scarecrow.


	4. First Real Session

**Everything belongs to its rightful owners. I'm not trying to bash religion, it's simply a facet of my character's backstory. I see nothing wrong with anyone's faith so long as they don't force it on others or use it as an excuse to hurt someone. Please review.**

Dr. Young's office was still very plain though it did have more color that the rest of the asylum. Reggie assumed it was relatively the same for all the doctor's offices, even if she wasn't in Young's main office. The carpet was short and dark blue, Reggie sat in a slightly cushioned but still basic chair that one found in most schools or offices and the light above them gave off a quiet hum.

It was her fourth day at the asylum and Reggie sat quietly as Dr. Young got everything into order with her stomach only half full of animal food and peaches from a can. She'd talked to Ruby again and they were quickly becoming friends. They both enjoyed Tim Burton films and Reggie was able to try speaking Spanish again. She was rather impressed with how much she remembered. She still hadn't asked Ruby any further questions about why she was there. Reggie didn't think they were that close yet and she wasn't sure how to ask in a way that wouldn't hurt the younger girl. Apparently her parents never came to visit her and Ruby never mentioned any other friends. If she got out before Ruby did, Reggie decided that she would come back and visit her.

Reggie got the feeling that Dr. Young didn't really care too much about her case but she was fine with that. She wasn't in the sessions to get help, she just wanted to behave well enough to get a competency hearing so she could leave.

"Why don't we talk about school?" Dr. Young said, folding her hands.

"How far back do we need to go?" Reggie asked.

"As far back as you need to." Dr. Young said, getting a pencil ready.

"Well, I'm sure you know that I'm originally from England." Reggie said, trying to get comfortable in her chair.

"Yes, your immigration records show that you came to the U.S just before your freshman year of high school." Dr. Young said, opening a file, no doubt checking Reggie's statement.

"Yeah...during my middle school years I went to a very strict all girls Catholic school." Reggie said, taking a moment to convert UK years to US grades.

"I thought the UK was mainly Protestant Christian." Dr. Young said.

"It is, but British Catholics still exist." Reggie said.

Dr. Young looked slightly reproachful at Reggie's sarcastic tone. "Do you consider yourself Catholic?"

Reggie shook her head. "I may make jokes involving religion, like I believe in God but I consider myself atheist. I respect Catholicism I just don't always respect Catholics. I'm aware that there are a lot of wonderful Catholics out there but my faith is my decision. I did plan on minoring in religious studies though." You didn't have to be faithful to learn about religion.

"How strict was your school?" Dr. Young asked, writing on a piece of paper.

Reggie couldn't help but wonder what she was writing. Were they good things? Would they help her get out? She knew better than to ask. She couldn't help but sigh in irritation and rub her temple at her doctor's question.

"We're going to need more than an hour Dr. Young. The dress code alone made it seem like they were trying to strip away all sense of individuality. Our skirts couldn't come above our knees, our jeans couldn't be too tight or too loose and they couldn't have holes in them, we were only allowed to wear certain brands of tennis shoes which were the only kind of shoes we were allowed to wear, our ties had to be perfect, our shirts had to be buttoned all the way up, our socks had to be a certain height and that's just clothes. Our hair couldn't be any longer than three inches past shoulder length, no dyes or unique styling options, we couldn't wear any makeup which included nail polish, we could only wear simple crosses on a chain and little stud earrings; no other jewelry was allowed. We couldn't wear perfume and we couldn't make any alterations to our uniforms, even if we were allergic to the material." Reggie had to take a breath after her rant.

"What were the faculty members like?" Dr. Young asked.

"Stereotypical mean Catholic school teachers. Sure, some were decent but you always remember the mean ones. Getting into trouble for random reasons, getting yelled at for nothing and listening them preach about a book that I'm not even sure they've read. I still know that book cover to cover and I've never seen them practice what they preach." Reggie said with no small amount of bitterness.

"I'm sensing a lot of hostility. Is this school where you developed your disregard for authority and habit of making you own justice?" Dr. Young asked.

"Most likely." Reggie said with a shrug. "It also made me love art. We weren't allowed to doodle in our books. I did it anyway."

"You were expelled in the eight grade." Dr. Young said, reading from Reggie's file.

"After years of trying." Reggie said, crossing her legs. "It wasn't a very big school and I think they were desperate to keep students so I got away with a lot of stuff. I hardly showed up to classes, I broke the dress codes, I talked back, I wrote bad things in Latin class, I questioned the Bible and I even vandalized the school by tagging the walls and teacher's cars. I got yelled at a lot but I wasn't expelled. I was finally able to get kicked out when I tried to summon the devil." Reggie smirked and chuckled to herself. "That was awesome. Nothing happened, obviously but I was still expelled. I actually almost got arrested."

"I'm positive you can't be arrested for summoning the devil." Dr. Young said with a patronizing tone.

"No, but you can get arrested for breaking and entering." Reggie said.

"Did your sister try and get expelled as well?" Dr. Young asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"She wanted to leave just as much as I did but she was too scared to actively act out like I did." Reggie said. "She'd roll up her skirt when the teachers weren't around and she'd put on a bunch of jewelry and makeup the minute the last bell rang." Reggie began finger combing through her black hair. "But she did break into school with me, my brothers helped too."

"Your brothers are older than you, yes?" Dr. Young asked.

"Yeah. I'm nineteen, my sister Skylar is twenty, my brother Seth is twenty-one and Nathan is twenty-two. Yeah." Reggie said at Dr. Young's surprised look. "I'm the only one that's actually related to my father. Past step mothers left their kids with my dad. The fact that we're all one year apart is just lucky."

"How did you try to summon the devil?" Dr. Young asked.

"We broke in just around midnight. We actually did it during the full moon to add to the spooky vibe. I'd actually snuck in to the 'forbidden section' of the library. It was actually the most interesting. They had books about all the different religions; Islam, Hinduism and they had some creepier books. They had books about demons, witchcraft and voodoo. I think it was there for a way for select people to protect our faith by knowing the beliefs of the heretics. Those were always my favorite books." Reggie said with a smile.

"Because they were forbidden?" Dr. Young scratched some more notes onto her paper.

"Yeah." Reggie said. "I remember for my plan to summon the devil I wanted to find the creepiest book in the library. I found this book called the Necronomicon, which has incantations in it and if you read them you can supposedly bring about the apocalypse." Reggie snickered. "I never even got to open the book. A neighbor had ratted us out and the principal came in to see me and my siblings sitting together in a circle by candle light, dressed all in black with the Necronomicon in my lap. Breaking and entering, stealing from the library, sneaking boys onto campus and trying to summon the devil; that's how I got expelled."

"No animal sacrifices?" Dr. Young asked. Many serial killers started off with animals.

"No!" Reggie said, looking disgusted. "I wasn't willing to go that far!"

"An animal lover." Dr. Young said. She then glanced at her watch. "Seems our session is over, Reggie."

"So it is." Reggie said, standing up and stretching. She couldn't wait for laundry day the next day. She hadn't changed clothes or taken a shower since arriving at the asylum and she was starting to smell... less than pleasant. Her hair was also getting stringy and greasy, a feeling she just couldn't stand.

"I understand you have a visitor coming at the end of the week." Dr. Young said.

"Yep." Reggie said with a smile, the biggest smile she'd had since arriving at the asylum. "My sister is coming to visit."


	5. First Visit

**Everything belongs to its rightful owners. I'd love for someone to Beta this story and bounce around ideas with me. Anyone interested, let me know.**

Reggie almost started crying when she saw her sister walk into the visitor's center. The young inmate sat in a small plastic chair behind a large glass panel. There were several little interview stations in the hallway that was the visitor's center. A few other inmates visiting family members and a couple of guards were spread out in the area. She figured it was because the inmates that were visiting weren't too high profile, and there for not worth the extra guards.

Reggie took a moment to study her older sister. Skylar had curly light blonde hair that came down to her waist and light blue eyes that always drew attention back in high school. She was a little shorter than Reggie and had lost some muscle definition, much like her incarcerated sister. Despite her naturally light coloring, Skylar, like Reggie, preferred dark clothing. Skylar had dressed up for the meeting, adopting black lace tights, a sweetheart, knee length black dress with a cropped jacket, black ankle boots, black eyeshadow and dark red lipstick.

Skylar sat in the chair on the other side of the glass and smiled, her teeth seeming even whiter in contrast with her dark makeup.

"Hey Reggie." Skylar said. "How are you holding up? You look thin."

That was no doubt due to the fact that the Asylum's food was only nutritional for goats. The moment she got out she was going to go to the press with the unfair and inhumane treatment of paitients and that was only the food that Reggie had experienced. Who knew what the more extreme case patients had to deal with? Were the even treated or were they just treated like zoo animals? Fed, watered and kept in a cage?

It felt so good to hear her sister's voice again; higher and softer than her own. There was still a trace of the British accent that had quickly faded from Reggie's speach pattern after moving to America. You never appreciate someone until you're cut off from them. Reggie found herself missing every annoying habit her sister had; leaving her shoes everywhere, borrowing her makeup without asking, blasting Bollywood music all day and even being asked to do recon on guys that had caught her eye.

"I'm fine." Reggie said. "I really miss you though, and Ollie."

Skylar smiled. "Ollie misses you too. Think that's why chewed up one of your socks."

"Little bastard." Reggie mumbled, shaking her head fondly. Ollie was the three year old long haired Chihuahua that the two had. He was a small, yippee little dog who thought he was a Doberman and was willing to fight anything if he could muster up the energy to leave his bed. Despite the breed's hyperactive reputation Ollie was incredibly lazy.

"How are you holding up without me?" Reggie asked anxiously.

"Good." Skylar said, smiling.

Reggie narrowed her eyes. "I know you're wearing foundation. Are you hiding bags under your eyes, are you sleeping okay?"

Skylar was quiet for a moment. "It's harder, ever since you got locked up. Balancing school with finding a full time job has been...hectic." Skylar sighed. "Me and the guys have been trying to keep dad from interfering."

The thought of her alcoholic, womanizing, abrasive father talking to the doctors in charge of her freedom sent a chill down Reggie's spine. Though it was a little comforting to know that her father cared at least a little...deep down...in his own special way. Besides, if he really didn't care he could have sent her to live with mum; before she was tossed into Arkham at least. Reggie mentally shook her head, she was beginning to sound like her sister. Her dad may not completely hate her but he was still a self esteem crushing bastard with absolutely no filter. She remembered what her father said when they were at the courthouse because mum was being tried for murder.

 _"I always knew your mum would be up on a murder charge, I just didn't think I'd be alive to see it."_

"Have you run into any other kinds of trouble. We don't live all that far from the Iceberg Lounge and all its...dealings." Reggie said carefully.

"I haven't seen anything but I've heard gunshots and screaming every now and then." Skylar said, wringing her hands.

"So...basic Gotham noises?" Reggie asked, raising an eyebrow. The two sisters shared a laugh. That was really all you could do. While those who were born in Gotham viewed it as normal, they had grown up in England with very different gun laws and not nearly as high a crime rate. They would think they'd gotten used to it, but then they'd hear a mugging go wrong in a nearby alley at night and then all that would change.

"How are Nathan and Seth?" Reggie asked, playing with a strand of black hair. It was already starting to feel unwashed.

"Nathan is still playing in that band of his. They changed the name again but I can't remember what it is now." Skylar said before letting out a small giggle. "Remember how he'd beg you to design the band logo everytime?"

"They changed their name every two weeks." Reggie rolled her eyes. She'd eventually told Nathan that she'd only redesign the band logo if the band name stayed consistent for at least three months.

"How he balanced that with school and football practice I'll never know," Skylar said. "Remember when you scared the football team into submission because they were giving him a hard time?"

Reggie laughed. "Big bad football players scared shitless of a freshman that had literally just moved to Gotham. He became quarterback in his senior year, first year in an American school, and we were there to cheer him on."

"With pom-poms." Skylar said with a giggle before shaking her hand as though she had a Pom-Pom in it.

Reggie chuckled shaking her head. "If you'd told me a few months before then that I'd be a cheerleader I would've laughed in your face."

"Seth is still dating Laila." Skylar said, smiling sweetly.

"But didn't Seth take her to meet dad last month?" Reggie asked. Skylar nodded. Reggie leaned back in her chair. "Wow."

"I know." Skylar said before sighing dreamily. "It's so sweet."

Even though she agreed, Reggie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her sister Skylar was, what Reggie liked to call, a delusional romantic. The blonde woman got her idea of romance while she was growing up from greeting cards, Barbie, Disney and trashy YA novels. She fell in love very easily and very quickly. She also seemed to be a traced to damaged men. She needed to be needed. Her dream love would be... probably someone from Arkham if she were to be honest. Someone wit's a tragic backstory that Skylar could fix with love, hugs and a Cinderella ending. She was like Harley Quinn in that sense, she even looked like somewhat like her but the difference was that Skylar wasn't nearly brave enough to go as far as the former psychologist had.

Instead, she studied the history and culture of India. Skylar had dreams of being a diplomat in the foreign country and studying abroad if she could get the funds. Her sister enjoyed sharing what she learned. Reggie helped her make curry every week, she could speak a little Hindi and she could fold a sari... eventually. Reggie doubted Skylar could obtain the funds to study abroad, especially while she was behind bars and couldn't financially assist her.

"I hope no one else has come into your picture so quick." Reggie said, crossing her arms.

"No." Skylar said. "And if I do meet someone we're not getting serious until he has the little sister seal of approval."

"Just tell them I've been to Arkham. That'll separate the flings from the commited."

"Have you run into your mum yet?" Skylar asked.

Reggie froze. She knew her mother was in Arkham but the fact that they were in the same complex hadnt hit her until that moment. She could bump into her paranoid schizophrenic mother in the cafeteria or in the rec-room. Would she be calm and sweet, trying to protect the other inmates from aliens or would she be trying to kill the guards because they were the aliens? It wouldn't be a good idea to associate herself with such a violent inmate but if her mother got into a fight, would Reggie be able to stay out of it? It was her mum.

Before they could discus Reggie's psychopathic mother, one of the guards came up and tapped Reggie on the shoulder. The hour was up. Looking at her sister with misty blue eyes, Reggie reached her hands through the slot in the glass and held them out to her sister. A few tears slipped down her sister's cheeks but she had apparently been smart enough to wear water proof makeup. Skylar clasped Reggie's hands tightly. Reggie compared their hands as she did so. She had callouses from drawing, her skin was paler because she hadn't seen the sun in a while and her nails had dirt under them. Skylar's hands were soft, her nails freshly painted black and filed perfectly. She still had time to look perfect. Reggie would have rolled her eyes and commented on it in any other situation.

"I love you." Skylar said.

"I love you too." Reggie couldn't keep her voice from trembling.


End file.
